The K class - Lawn-darts of the sea?

Today we look at the origins and history of the infamous K class submarines, why they were built and the incredibly long list of things that went wrong with them.
Thanks to Dr Sam Willis for the 3d animation, visit the Mariners Mirror podcast here: snr.org.uk/the-mariners-mirro... and / @marinersmirrorpodcast
Sources:
www.amazon.co.uk/K-Boats-amaz...
www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Gre...
www.amazon.co.uk/British-Subm...
www.amazon.co.uk/Boat-Catastr...
www.amazon.co.uk/British-Subm...
www.amazon.co.uk/British-Subm...
Naval History books, use code 'DRACH' for 25% off - www.usni.org/press/books?f%5B...
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@GaldirEonai]

Any updates on the intro music copyright troll situation?

[@Drachinifel]

@@GaldirEonai I'm spending this month testing out a variety of themes and then there will be a vote ate the end :)

[@khaelamensha3624]

​@@DrachinifelVery nice idea but having the capacity of a goldfish to remember musics, I will have to watch again the videos. Gonna send a mail to my manager to tell him that all ongoing critic tasks will be late and no new deadline can be determined 😂 À vote about Rum tasting may be a good idea too 😇 Thanks again for all these great videos!

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Did the Allies ever consider attacking the IJN's fleet bases in the British and Dutch East Indies with long-range bombers based in Australia or Ceylon? Looking at a map, both Brunei Bay and Lingga Roads are within B-29 range of Allied bases which were in operation by summer 1944 (Darwin for Brunei, and both China Bay and Exmouth Gulf for Lingga), which opens up the theoretical possibility for airstrikes on the Japanese anchorages to try to disable or destroy the remaining Japanese combat units based there. Also: Why did the two classes of 15" German battleships (the _Bayerns_ and _Bismarcks)_ have chamfered edges on their main-battery-turret rooves and faces? Why didn't other battleships have this sort of chamfering on _their_ turrets?

[@eitanrosen464]

Was there any reason other than target of opportunity for the sinking of HMS Wellesley? The only other reason I could think for this vessel being the sole ship of the line sunk by aircraft was due to either that, was next to a more valuable target or that somehow the Germans thought that since it was a ship of the line, it would be useful for breaking the morale of the British similar to the effect they were going for with attempting to destroy HMS Victory.

[@m.streicher8286]

The scariest part about the K class is that the stern can be poking out of the water and the bow can still be below crush depth.

[@americankid7782]

The stern could be 50ft in the air and the bow would still be at crush depth.

[@robertfolkner9253]

A common joke on the K Class involved a communication between the Captain and his immediate Junior: “I say, Number One, my end is diving. What the hell is your end doing?”

[@brandonchild422]

The I-400 class was like that too.

[@JohnSmith-of2gu]

If your submarine is pointing downwards at an angle of more than 45 degrees you're probably dead anyway.

[@peregrine3845]

@@JohnSmith-of2gu there's a heck of a distinction between "probably" and "definitely"

[@seanquigley3605]

Has any class of ship's design caused its crews to receive medals for Bravery simply for being assigned and operating it? Cause these crews deserve to have them.

[@michaelray3865]

I would include CSS Hunley definitely in this category. Though it also worked, sinking the housatonic.

[@drtidrow]

@@michaelray3865 the Hunley was only slightly less hazardous for it's crew than a _kaiten_

[@johngregory4801]

​@@michaelray3865Also sinking itself twice, killing its crew both times. I don't care what anyone says about the Confederacy... CSS Huntley sank under the weight of those men's massive steel balls, ESPECIALLY the second crew. They HAD to know they were most likely dead once she submerged.

[@adamjaquay4279]

​@@johngregory4801indeed. Sorta like the Union 2nd and 3rd waves against the Stone Wall at Fredrickburg. I don't think any of those men had any doubts about most of them coming back unharmed let alone alive. Humans are very strange creatures.

[@johngregory4801]

@@adamjaquay4279 True that

[@Ciborium]

With all the "friendly fire" incidents between RN cruisers and submarines that were traveling together, you'd think one of those incidents would include the claim of "Japanese torpedo boats".

[@johncunningham6928]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Isolder74]

Wrong fleet and a need for more binoculars.

[@robert48044]

@@Isolder74 never enough binoculars

[@cartmann94]

Kamchatka, at the bottom of the ocean: did somebody call me?

[@ernestcline2868]

_HMS Kamchatka_ ?

[@davidb6576]

I alternated between cringing for the safety (danger) of the crews, and wanting to thrash the leadership that refused to recognize the utter unsuitability of these deathtraps.

[@mlys7184]

Wow, that's one deadly submarine... for it's crew

[@sillypuppy5940]

They acquired the name of "Killer class"

[@The_ZeroLine]

@@sillypuppy5940”Killer Ourselves Class?”

[@kobeh6185]

The most insane thing about this class of ships is that they built THAT many of them

[@harbl99]

RN in its pomp: "Order by the dozen or not at all."

[@kefkaZZZ]

How many did they build? Circus Performer Emoji

[@HauntedXXXPancake]

That and that they stayed in Service for 15 years.

[@able34bravo37]

@@kefkaZZZ 17, according to the wikipedian scholars.

[@tomcwenkala8718]

The brig on bread and water, or orders to a K boat?

[@pscwplb]

I can't believe that they actually put Prince Albert in a can.

[@myparceltape1169]

Royals are expendable. You just get the next one in line. "The king is dead, long live the king." It happened again quite recently, you know.

[@CorePathway]

Ok, that was good.

[@fixman88]

*giggles*

[@Zarastro54]

And I bet the poor guy was wishing someone would let him out.

[@mx-k]

The smoking lamp is lit. Smoke 'im if you got 'im!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

The K-class: a submarine with the engineering of the Mk 14 torpedo and the luck of the Second Pacific Squadron

[@ReneSchickbauer]

During its first year in action, the Mk 14 probably killed less people then the K class during its first year.

[@micuu1]

Are we counting Royal Navy sailors? Seems they killed plenty of people, just not the right ones.@@ReneSchickbauer

[@boobah5643]

@@micuu1Pretty sure we are; that's rather the point. The Mk 14 was bad at killing the enemy; the K-class was disturbingly effective at killing their own crew.

[@Karagianis]

TBH I don't think what happened to the 2nd Pacific squadron can be put down to luck. It was the result of years of dedicated corruption and incompetence! :P By a large group of perople, both in the Russian Navy and Imperial government.

[@idahorodgersusmc]

Best comment ever

[@davidwhitfield6025]

Monty Python couldn't write a more tragically hilarious skit. "When Royal Navy wanted a fleet submarine that could keep up with the Battle fleet everyone said they were daft, but the Royal Navy built the K Class all the same, just to show them. The first sank into the sea. So they built a second one. And that one sank into the sea. So they built a third. That burned down, rolled over, and then sank into the sea. But the fourth one stayed up. Until it got rammed by a Battlecruiser, the pumps failed and then sank into the sea. But that didn't matter Son, because we're British and we never admit a mistake." It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. Rest in peace all those brave, unfortunate souls.

[@breamoreboy]

I was thinking of an opposite view to "What have the Romans ever done for us?".

[@CowMaster9001]

To be fair, the future _was_ steam-powered. It's just that it would require much higher energy density than an oil boiler.

[@Voron_Aggrav]

And still is, though we should do away with using Coal for it

[@oneparticularharbor144]

... and a wee bit of physics.

[@GaldirEonai]

The main thing wasn't energy density, it's that a nuclear reactor doesn't need a constant supply of oxygen to run. AND it has a higher energy density, but honestly that was a distant secondary benefit compared to being able to run at full power at any depth.

[@thoughtfox2409]

Only for some nations, though. Some of the most succesful (at least in training/exercises) Subs are still Diesel-Subs. After all, the Swedish Gotland-Class and the German Class 212 A (and soon 212 CD) are some of the most silent submarines out there.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

steam power without the oxygen

[@GrouchyOldMan58]

Having scuba dived on both the subs sank in the battle of isle of May it was one of the most sombre set of dives thinking of all the poor buggers that got killed that night. We looked, paid respects but did not touch the 4 pieces of those 2 subs on the sea floor. That was 25 years ago and they were still on remarkably good condition. I hope that they still are as a memorial to the brave men who sailed in them knowing their history even then.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Sweet Pasta, this narrative of the disaster of a training exercise made me think the exercise was planned by a horde of kindergarteners and the ships captained by capuchin monkeys on a blend of cocaine and tranquilizers.

[@michaelwright2986]

@@MonkeyJedi99 I think it probably showed that the sort of fleet manoeuvres these submarines were designed for weren't really possible; that signalling needed to be improved; and, perhaps, that you really should call "Knock it off" when an exercise goes wrong, though perhaps that wasn't all that clear at the time, with the deficiency in signalling. Oh, and it also showed (yet again) that the K class were misconceived. What really causes outrage, a century later, is that the Admiralty persisted with the class, even though it was clear to many (including Fisher) that huge steam submarines were a bad idea, even before they were ordered.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

​@@MonkeyJedi99having worked with school kids daily, I can kind of picture this.

[@CharlesYuditsky]

Perhaps a memorial bouy could be set up?

[@GrouchyOldMan58]

They are in 60m of water and in the middle of a reasonably busy shipping area. Unfortunately if you marked them the souvenir hunters would soon be a problem. They are hard to find and that's their best protection.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Subs are supposed to sink but the K-Class are a little bit too enthusiastic on the sinking part

[@njm5642]

Subs are supposed submerge*

[@CorePathway]

Nickname should have been ‘The Ostrich’

[@JosephBoxmeyer]

Well written, but with a consideration being given to changing the word to submergence.

[@wazza33racer]

There was a quote from a K boat captain that went " the K boats handled like a battle ship but had the bridge of a picket boat"

[@ROBERTN-ut2il]

Atually he said "fdestroyer"

[@Senthiuz]

She's built like a bistro, but handles like a steakhouse.

[@wesleygay8918]

As a long time commercial fisherman, the idea of fuel tanks being open to the sea at the bottom is currently giving me a waking nightmare

[@TheFilwud]

Most subs ballast tanks are open to the sea at the bottom anyway, only air pressure stops them flooding. Great incentive for keeping the sub the right way up!

[@wesleygay8918]

@@TheFilwud yeah, but you don't use ballast to run the engines. I have had to clean up so many fuel spills over the years... I don't want to think about that happening inside of a fuel tank. The corrosion alone is giving me a headache Just thinking of it

[@yurilytviak9066]

As a prairie boy deeply sceptical of many varying modes of drowning it sounds pretty awful to me also…

[@WG55]

There were so many awful incidents that I had to keep notes: 17:22: K3 sea trials 20:47: K13 disaster 33:58: K1, K2, K4, K6, K14, K16 incidents 37:46: K2 uncontrolled dive 38:05: K11 boiler room fire 40:32: “Battle” of May Island chaos 50:58: K15 stern sinking 51:43: K3 crushing dive 53:54: K8, K14, K15 incidents 54:19: K5 stuck at bottom, collision with towed destroyer 54:35: Fleet exercise disaster, K5 implosion 56:14: K15 sinking at port 57:04: K22 emergency rapid blow

[@watcherzero5256]

To be fair none of the issue were directly related to their steam boilers, even the boiler room fire was caused by a failure of an oil pump.

[@comrade_commissar3794]

What is the total death toll?

[@johnjephcote7636]

May Island appears to be a predecessor of 'motorway madness' as mist descended on the M1 shortly after completion, in the early 1960s.

[@bernhardlangers778]

This reminds me of reading about the reactor incidents with the Soviet November class subs.

[@ROBERTN-ut2il]

A major reason for the USN trying to develop Fleet Boats was the Treaty Regime. Commerce raiding had to be conducted under the Cruiser Rules, which it considered suicidal. So the prewar USN subs were designed and crews trained under the doctrine that they would only be used against warships. Of course, that was ditched on the afternoon of Dec 7 1941 when the famous signal, "Execute unrestricted air and submarine warfare against Japan" was broadcast

[@gerardwall5847]

The USN submarine force officer corps were very aware before the attack on Pearl Harbor that unrestricted submarine warfare was the likely war action since they knew a good portion of the Japanese battle line was faster than the USN fleet submarine maximum speed.

[@j_taylor]

Weren't US subs enforcing the blockade of cargo from Manchuria to Japan well before Pearl Harbor? Cargo ships are not warships.

[@andrew3203]

They were still heavily restricted by their own stupid torpedoes. No IJN ship was sunk by torpedoes til 1943.

[@GaldirEonai]

The whole Battle of May Island sequence is something straight out of a very dark comedy film.

[@JohnP538]

I really question why the admiral didn't face a court, then I looked him up and realized he was far to well connected for that to ever happen. It's good to be the king, but being his friend is pretty nice as well.

[@myparceltape1169]

​@@JohnP538All because of the minesweeper.

[@alanwatts9232]

I was thinking of Frank Spencer.

[@brownwrench]

Way too dark

[@myparceltape1169]

@@brownwrench If you get the chance, read the description in the book. It lets you stop and look back if you have forgotten which sub was hit by what

[@hirisk761]

the K class motto: just when you thought it couldn't get any worse....

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

Was there any serious, significant problem that this Class didn't experience?

[@guthwait2791]

"Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse," hold my pint.

[@gregorywright4918]

@@michaelwaldmeier1601Since they were doing steam in subs for the first time, they pioneered many cascading failures and "lessons learned"...

[@harbl99]

The 'K' stands for kursed.

[@roberthilton5328]

I think of a motto as the classic military line: "We must demonstrate failure to prove lack of success."

[@johncunningham6928]

"I say, Number One, my end is diving... What the hell is your end doing...?"

[@jessehamilton3980]

Really enjoy the 3D animation bits..they definitely help to visualize the ship's systems as you describe their functions. Hopefully you can collaborate with Dr. Willis more in the future!

[@smatthewson2613]

I concur, great graphics well employed.

[@brendonbewersdorf986]

It really does help and a lot of these ships don't have detailed information or plans available for them i concur we could benefit greatly from more of these 3d models

[@Dav1Gv]

Hear, hear

[@cartmann94]

Ah, yes. The Koffin class. We’re going down the rabbit hole again.

[@seanbigay1042]

Makes you wonder if whoever designated the K-class was aware of the infamous "Battle" of Karansebes.

[@michimatsch5862]

So horrifying that "battle." The guy outdid himself there. But Drach is giving some good general detail on their entire history here.

[@oskarrasmussen7137]

I think this is the first time one of these lists about a class had to dedicate most of its time to a series of truely horrible series of accidents. Good lord these were terrible boats.

[@NickSteffen]

Yea, tells you a lot about the times, that it was just fine to uncontrollably dive into the sea bed for the entire multi decade existence of a class of ship.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I really liked the 3-D renderings, they really helped show exactly how the machinery plant was supposed to work, as well as give an idea of the actual size of the subs.

[@gregorywright4918]

I liked the 3D, but I had to replay those sections because the audio did not correspond to what the 3D was illustrating. The bunk beds were amusing, but hard to figure out which compartments they were in because the bulkheads were absent.

[@heikkiremes5661]

Ahh, the legendary Kalamity Class.

[@jlvfr]

Also known as the Krap class.

[@Izual001]

Also known as the Killer Class.

[@able34bravo37]

A submarine that is powered by steam AND diesel, with a negatively bouyant bow, a fuel tank open to the sea, AND carrying of all things, depth charges. These submarines were freakin' wild! All of a sudden, Surcouf doesn't seem so crazy.

[@kevinizatt4358]

Sounds like a certain series of castle mentioned in a monty python movie. "Everyone said i was crazy to build a k class but i did it anyway, and she sank. So i built a second, and she burst into flames and sank. So i built a third, and it burst into flames, exploded, and sank. So i built a forth, and it managed to make it long enough to be scrapped."

[@CorePathway]

“But Father, I don’t want to be captain of a K-class…”

[@kevinizatt4358]

@@CorePathway "and why not? She has huuuge...displacement."

[@fixman88]

@@kevinizatt4358 *gigglefits*

[@crazyguy32100]

(Most submarines primary defense) "Dive! Dive! Dive!" (K-class primary defense) "No time to dive! Cheese It!"

[@noyb7920]

(K-class secondary defense) "Blow all ballast, the boat dove without orders again"

[@roykliffen9674]

I would like to propose to rename the K-class submarines to the Kamchatka class submarines.

[@mattdavies4626]

My favourite K class quote "My end is diving No1. What the hell is your end doing?"

[@Ciborium]

Are we sure that Vickers, et al, did not have German agents on staff who intentionally made the K-class more dangerous to their crews than to any potential enemy?

[@johncunningham6928]

Would they have needed to do anything...!!

[@CorePathway]

Personally I’m surprised Vickers didn’t say “to hell with 14” torpedoes, take a look at this 14” gun!”

[@tcpratt1660]

​@@CorePathwayI believe their gun salesmen got to the Admiralty just in time for the M-class, so all's well...

[@gregorywright4918]

The sleeper agent was on the Admiralty staff, who demanded steam subs with more speed than the main fleet...

[@myparceltape1169]

Something like Colt with enough 1911s for European private sale but a waiting list for the USA army.

[@mindwarp42]

(immediately shares this gem with a certain now anime owl man who likes going down rabbit holes) ...I am shocked at the lack of usual snark at Beattie being Beattie, who doesn't seem to have learned the lesson that good communication skills save lives after Jutland. I also had to WTF at the RN actually assigning a man to the same cursed sub twice, even if the sub did have a different designation for Round 2.

[@Drachinifel]

These subs transcend even Beatty in some ways :D

[@jeffholloway3882]

I agree with that, what must have went through his mind receiving those orders.

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

Poor sailor. He must have felt that the UK Navy had a death wish for him.@@jeffholloway3882

[@gregorywright4918]

Makes you suspect the Assignments section did not get the memo about the renumbering of the sub... bureaucrats.

[@iainb1577]

I have some original negatives of these moored by the Forth Bridge. Not in great nick but I must do something with them sometime soon. Thanks for making this vid. and reminding me.

[@robinnicholson4009]

I would be very interested to see these somehow.

[@billm99uk]

Reading a book on the K-class in my local library in the '70's was actually got me interested in naval history...

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

WOW. The powerplant animation emerging from the flat plan view is eye-poppingly wonderful!

[@keiranallcott1515]

Dear drachnifel , I recently found this out that there is a memorial for hms k13 in carlingford Sydney, Australia. it was made in dedication to a officer who was lost and was made by his widow. In the 1920s , along Carlingford rd near the old train station

[@deaks25]

I've always thought the K-Class were a type that was just way too ahead of their time. The idea of a Fleet Submarine was definitely a forward thinking one, and today the steam powered fleet-submarine is a reality as US Carrier Battle Groups do have submarines that accompany them, but the technology of the 1910's just was not able to meet the types needs. Either K13/22 was a damn lucky boat, or the sub was so determined to sink itself and only the sheer bloody-mindedness of her various crews and commanders stopped her from achieving said goal... The M-Class subs were a subject I read about as a kid and I was absolutely fascinated by all 3 (Obviously the story of M1 and M2 are the most storied) so a Wednesday Video on that class is one I'd very much look forward to!

[@myparceltape1169]

I liked the idea of the Mutton boats. Before they are in torpedo range pop up, lob a 840 lb shell at them and duck back down out of sight. Then it is "who did that" which distracts them from the task. You might even score a hit.

[@hanzzel6086]

​@@myparceltape1169I mean, a 12 inch shell appearing from thin air is one hell of a distraction.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

33:58 "The issues with the K class, on their trials, didn't stop there though." 39:48 "Somewhat ironically, given that they were submarines, the K class were now also fitted with depth charge launchers." 51:18 "This was, however, the first time a K class had dived uncontrollably by the stern. So, meh, new accomplishments and all that!" 55:19 "K22 decided it was going to lawn dart into the seabed again." TITLE DROP

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

All were fitted from the manufacturers with vertical, depth-charging to sea bottom capability.

[@gregorywright4918]

Makes you wonder if they ever used the depth charges, as they would probably do more serious damage to their own delicate hulls or trim...

[@luisnunes3863]

@@gregorywright4918 Any nutcase that suggests fitting a sub with depth charges should be immediately informed he'll be the one testing them 😁😁🤬

[@stephaniem3580]

The Battle of May Island makes Honda point look like a sleek fleet maneuver.

[@stephaniem3580]

Also clearly a Beatty inspired fiasco

[@graveyard1979]

There's a plastic scale model of those available, very nice looking and fortunately it can't spontaneously sink on your shelf.

[@AndrewGivens]

That was truly diabolical. No matter how many times I re-hear or re-read the story of the K-boats, it just never gets any less appalling. Great video - thanks, Drach.

[@regan1317]

did anyone get their papers to leave the RN after the incident?

[@theblackbear211]

A yes... the K class... as a child who had a working understanding of steam engines, when I first read about the K-class I suspected that there would be issues... but then I learned the true horror of their history. They make the H.L. Hunley look like a resounding success story. Thanks for a great presentation.

[@watcherzero5256]

To be fair they had few issues with their steam boilers and their problems mostly revolved around length to beam ratio affecting sea keeping, weight distribution and rudimentary ballast tank understanding when first built (which was ironed out later)

[@theblackbear211]

@@watcherzero5256 Except of course for the major challenge of residual heat - and that of keeping the engine room adequately ventilated... plus the added complexity and size of the stack and air intake ducts... all of which led to an increase in time from shifting from full steam propulsion to being able to submerge.... the boiler technology itself was certainly one of the best developed technologies aboard the vessel... but IMO, it was only slightly more appropriate in a submarine (at this time), than in an aircraft. The M-class by comparison was using similarly aged technology, were almost the same size - though slower, and diesel powered, but, while not "nimble" vessels by any measure, never developed the unfortunate reputations of the K-class.

[@watcherzero5256]

@@theblackbear211 They were design considerations but they didn't directly cause any accidents, after the trials on the initial boat that got too hot for the crew more ventilation was added. They added an auxiliary diesel generator early in design so they could shut off the boiler earlier and have power before the boiler was brought to steam and unlike the French boat there was never a single incident in their life of damage being done to the boat by diving while the boiler was too hot even under crash dive conditions. They were the largest and most heavily armed submarines and by far the fastest for two decades and much submarine diving technology was directly derived from their development. Indeed they had an equal but more practical benefit than the also deeply flawed USS Nautilus (for instance she had a major steam leak a week before her maiden voyage that injured several crew, it was thought minor until they realised she hadnt been fitted with seamless steam pipes so they all had to be ripped out and replaced. A welders torch repairing net damage set her cork insulation on fire, she sprung a leak in port which entirely flooded her reactor compartment, she sprung a leak in her steam pipes and it couldnt be located so the captain used car radiator repairer. A second cork insulation fire this time while underwater, an engineer opened the wrong valve and sprayed six crew with reactor coolant and then they threw away the dosimeters with their contaminated clothes so they had no idea how much radiation the crew had been exposed to, she sailed into an aircraft carrier almost ripping off her conning tower.... and those were just some of the accidents.

[@joelmccoy9969]

This is one of the most riveting stories I´ve heard of the horrors of Submarine service. It explains some of the secrecy around Naval Service. The old Saw `Don´t go near the water´ comes to mind. The disasters caused by inattention, incompetence, inexperience, and hubris are punished cruelly and quickly by Old Neptune. The Horror stories told in the average yachting Marina are sobering.

[@thegrandnope7143]

Really Living up to their Kalamity-Klass Nickname

[@heavytube7890]

Lovely to see a video on the K-class! Ever since i read Don Everitt's book on them i found them interesting

[@seanbigay1042]

"Interesting." Ha. Is this an example of British understatement?

[@trevorashworth7307]

This is a really good book.Well worth looking for a copy.

[@myparceltape1169]

Great book. I got a paperback copy in the 1970s. Once I got my nose in it I couldn't get it back out again. Possibly because I bought it near one of the shipyards and not far away from the monument to the sailors and shipyard workers lost on K13. (Inside the Elder Park).

[@fearthehoneybadger]

The sea-going equivalent of the Yugo.

[@tobiasGR3Y]

What a reference, oh my 'Lanta.

[@thomasharvanek2411]

But not as pretty

[@Senthiuz]

I think the Yugo equivalent would be the Yugoslavian Hrabri class submarines. L-class subs built under contract. One was scrapped after it was captured in the fall of Yugoslavia, even Italy deemed them unsafe to run. The other escaped the invasion and joined up with Royal Navy, who promptly banned it from diving due to safety concerns. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrabri-class_submarine

[@charlesknutson3282]

sea-going equivalent of the Rare Yugo Stretch.

[@eshafto]

I have it on good authority that the "K" stood for Kursed.

[@KPen3750]

The K-class are one of those concepts to me that were truly ahead of their time. Trying to be fleet-boats at a time when diesel engines could not really provide the power to maintain battle fleet speeds. They're fascinating and weird, I'd have loved to see their machinery spaces to understand the nightmare layout of pipework (having explored numerous museum ship engineering layouts myself). Also this class embodies the phrase "And then things got worse" in service.

[@gregorywright4918]

Great in theory, nightmares to implement in practice... And then things got worse.

[@myparceltape1169]

The nuclear subs could go faster than the fleet to clear the sea of any bothersome ships.

[@gregorywright4918]

@@myparceltape1169Problem with nukes is the faster they go, the less they can hear...

[@jimmyhaley727]

that were truly ahead of their time, yes,, about 200 yrs.

[@launcesmechanist9578]

On the subject of the K class issues I can just hear someone say ‘But wait, there’s more!’ in Billie Meyes tone of voice. Also K22 (or rather formerly K13): I sank once already, I am NOT going back down there again! Could you imagine being that person, surviving the 13, losing all your hair from stress and then getting assigned to 22, thinking it’s a whole new ship only for someone in passing to say ‘Oh no it’s 13, they just have her a new number so she doesn’t spook anyone.’

[@hanzzel6086]

I imagine there was a lot of cursing going on.

[@bradenhagen7977]

Id bet it all on more than a few defiant curses of the boat when ever she acted up. "Oh no you don't, not again" and the like.

[@FltCaptAlan]

Got to hand it to K-22, despite her long record of incidents, she still managed to be one of the last in service,

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Rather appropriately named, given how they ended up resulting in K-class scenarios for many of their crews. Sadly, they weren't divided into CK, MK, NK, SK, XK, and ZK sub-classes.

[@andrewgause6971]

Can you elaborate?

[@SabinStargem]

It is a reference to the SCP mythos, where world or reality-ending situations often take place. Here is one possible example of it. SCP: Bag of Holding Potatoes kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6vYYX2Og7msqaM @@andrewgause6971

[@myparceltape1169]

Jaguar cars?

[@JohnE9999]

@@andrewgause6971 Keter-class, from the SCP Foundation, I'd guess. I'm not familiar with all the combinations listed, but a CK event is basically 'end of the world'.

[@andrewgause6971]

@@JohnE9999 Oooohh, yeah. That would be bad if the Foundation is having to get involved. The sentient French tank was bad enough.

[@Ragefps]

Loving the CAD animations Drach! Really brings a blueprint to life

[@jeffholloway3882]

I really enjoyed this, as I knew of the class, but not the details of their service, I enjoy the details that you put into your videos, your style of presentation ( which was advice you gave in a livestream I listened to you yesterday). Your description of the battle of may Island was very well done, you can almost feel the battlecruiser speed past at fingertip distance, or the QE's up close and personal too. Bravo zulu

[@erwinrommel1462]

After watching this video im am now vary certain that any submarine that hull number that starts with a K has an extremely high chance of either causing a lot of problems,having a structural problem or in a lot of soviet cold war cases have a reactor malfunction

[@gregorywright4918]

Then there is the other fatal connection - 13. Apollo 13, CV-13, K-13...

[@SnoopReddogg]

The K stands for 'Kursed'

[@andrewrobinson5837]

A memorial to K13 is just down the road from where I live in Carlingford, NSW. It was donated and erected by Charles Albert Harry Freestone, a survivor of K13, who had moved to Australia and developed a successful local business. It serves as a memorial not just to K13, but to all HM submarines lost on service.

[@richardgeering7074]

I have wondered about the story of K13 submarine. I drive pass this memorial regularly

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

Excellent video about history I was not aware of. (Largely because my parents decided in 1956 to emigrate to Canada, when I was only 7). I noticed one amusing thing ... about the closed-captioning on my computer. Every time you spoke about the Vickers company, it was interpreted as "Vicar's". I have trouble imagining a Vicar working on submarines in his Sunday best!

[@CiaranMaxwell]

For the past month or so, I've been mentally spelling it as "vicar" because I forgot about the Vickers company.

[@camrsr5463]

Those blue print animations were very cool. I really liked them. I would have liked to hear some narration about what we are seeing durning the animation. but that could be a whole videos worth of explaination.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Steam power on a sub. It seems ridiculous today. At the time, few could have imagined the rapid submersion times that air power would demand during the next war. No matter the situation, being part of the engine room crew on such a vessel would have been hell.

[@mikespangler98]

It pretty much takes nuclear powered air conditioning to keep the engine room habitable. If I remember right our AC unit was rated for 165 tons.

[@mnxs]

​@@mikespangler98Why'd you use _tons_ to rate the AC unit? What does that mean?

[@mikespangler98]

@mnxs. Tons of ice (to melt per day) is the old way rating large air conditioners. One ton of AC capacity is taken as 12,000 BTU per hour. Further unit conversions are your responsibility.

[@gobs379]

@@mnxs As a comparison, the typical residential AC in the US will be between 1 and 3 tons.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Tonnage is the normal rating for air conditioning system. I type this as an 800 ton chiller runs 40' from me. 165 tons is not terribly large. The last ship I was on had six 130 ton units. That was less than 400' long.

[@cryptickcryptick2241]

This is really good insight into what it takes to make a good sub. All these problems, I mean "learning experiences," meant that by the time the next generation of subs came out, they could avoid those problems. This would have helped out both the USA and Britain as there was some sharing of technical expertise between allies.

[@cherokee43v6]

I'm kinda reminded of the Monty Python Castle Sketch from Holy Grail... But K-26. It stayed UP!

[@cheesenoodles8316]

The more I learn about submarine history, the more I admire anybody that went to sea in such a vessel. K class, now I know.....

[@jhoward8780]

No one: Absolutely Nobody: British Admiralty: "So let's make the submarine version of a Ford Pinto..."

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

add Chevy Corvair, Ford Edsel, Chevy Vega, exploding electric cars from various makes.

[@clangerbasher]

Lawn-darts of the sea? - That's t-shirt worthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@joostprins3381]

And I was hoping it was about the Dutch K class subs who had the highest kill rate at the start of the war and were only passed by the US at the end of the war.

[@Drachinifel]

Covered them recently :)

[@djbiscuit1818]

@joostprins3381 the video in question kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpXHf3h3Z8ebaMUsi=ScKukADkev9cDd_v

[@WhisperingDeath]

I've been looking forward to learning about the history of the K class disaster this since Drach introduced me to the K class years ago and OH MY GOD ITS SO MUCH WORSE THAN I EVER IMAGINED!

[@erictaylor5462]

This is a truly an extraordinary story, even for today, let alone when it took place.

[@user-dg9pu4pe9d]

If the mark 14 torpedo was a submarine. War is dangerous enough without your vessel being determined to find ways to try to kill you.

[@jackthorton10]

At least on solid ground, you can at least perceive the danger… not here

[@harryman11]

I really would love to see an animation of the total cluster fuck at May island

[@PeterGunn1958]

Sad to say, I miss the old intro Drach, that music was MUCH better. Otherwise, excellent video as always. I first read about the K class back in high school and was fascinated by them, glad you did this piece on them. 👍

[@patrickdurham8393]

He has different music for the regular videos and the Wednesday Rum Ration.

[@stujm84]

The rescue mission of K13 would make a fantastic mini series.

[@Nexusgamer8472]

i remember reading about K-13, in Helensburgh around Colquhoun Square there are these small pillars along the road and some of them have writing on them, one of them near the local Royal Bank of Scotland has a shortened description of the story of K-13

[@polygonvvitch]

If it's not mentioned in the video, the show Down the Rabbit Hole by Frederik Knudsen on youtube did a wonderful play by play of the Battle of May Island that is definitely worth a watch.

[@gurigura4457]

I'd personally describe it as "terrifying" and "heart-stopping" as opposed to "wonderful", but it definitely is worth a watch.

[@seanbigay1042]

@@gurigura4457 How about "sickening?" "Infuriating?" "Demoralizing?"

[@CruelestChris]

Just don't listen to anything he says before the actual "battle" part since all of it is painfully wrong.

[@Isteak80]

The K-3 getting attacked by one of its own navy's armed trawlers was amusing enough but I died when the response to this was to just leave without explanation.

[@davidlewis9068]

Rum Rations are always awesome.

[@haldorasgirson9463]

If only the K class were armed with Mark 14 torpedoes. A match made in heaven.

[@chaseman113]

Wonderful video of the K class, you gotta hand it to this era of British ships. Even if the technology was behind, their ships were dam tough enough to properly lawn dart without structure damage. Little shout out to HMS Victoria for fellow lawn dart glory.

[@Isolder74]

Still better than the Hydrogen Peroxide powered boats.

[@fatproduce]

I've been waiting for this episode for years. 🎉

[@rippertrain]

New music threw me for a loop. Long time listener. I owe this channel for years of good sleep in loud hotels . I work on the road.

[@barrydysert2974]

Drach had copyright issues caused by some greedy +#$√%#¡ jerks! i miss the old music !:-(

[@rippertrain]

@barrydysert2974 oh that's a shame. Oh well it's still by far my favorite youtube channel

[@sealpiercing8476]

ISTM that a lot of the issues with the K class are self-inflicted, in that it was realistically a prototype design that was inadvisably put into serial production due to wartime urgency. The sort of flaws it encountered are the sort of thing one reasonably discovers in a prototype by testing it. Instead the testing was wartime service, at apparently great expense in crews. The K26 seems like a big improvement, and if that much revised design were the one put into production many of the issues could have been avoided. I could compare it to the Mark 14 torpedo, if that weapon worked well enough that the US Bureau of Ordinance told crews to cope with it instead of denying there were problems. A grim episode.

[@wilsonj4705]

You need to make a tee shirt. "I survived the K Class"

[@chedelirio6984]

Fisher's initial reaction turns out to have been prescient.

[@Voron_Aggrav]

He had a Tendency to do so, in general he's been very good at predicting What's needed when and why

[@platylobiumobtuseangulum1607]

The story of that K13 sub rescue would make one hell of a good survival story movie.. Fascinating doco here thanks.

[@leechowning2712]

Imagine if they made a film based on the K-Class at all... we would have to hire Mel Brooks and Monty Python BOTH.

[@dorn0531]

Fantastic video Drach, thank you. I’ve been looking forward to this one since I found your channel. As always, excellent work

[@curlus]

Lawn darts?! I had those as a kid!

[@merafirewing6591]

I been hit by one on accident, damn those lawndarts really hurt.

[@GaldirEonai]

A worthy naval equivalent to the F-104 Lawndart.

[@khaelamensha3624]

Well in a country the F104 was mainly known as the grave digger... 😥

[@Spartaner251]

Also has the body count

[@seanbigay1042]

Hey, no fair. At least the F-104 was sexy.

[@KanJonathan]

​@@seanbigay1042 also an excellent point defense interceptor.

[@Ah01]

Germans used the high altitude design at low altitudes and their pilots were way too inexperienced in total flight hours (and not enough trained for the type) to handle the demanding plane. Once these issues were tackled, the statistics improved to some extent.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

These visuals are impressive!

[@imopman]

Great video always good to see a detailed analysis about a specific vessel type.

[@douglasfur3808]

I'm amazed that no one took the rational choice of setting scuttling charges and abandoning ship.

[@cf453]

This is my favorite piece of military hardware of all time.

[@TheLesserWeevil]

Would love to see a fully detailed video on 'The Battle of May Island'. Sounds like quite a tale.

[@christophero1969]

Excellent, I love submarine engineering. Please do the M-class soon.

[@coltinyancey6420]

Remember to leave that like folks

[@greendoodily]

Well, listening to the May Island "incident", I guess we know what the developers used to train the Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts navigation AI... The really startling thing about this litany of near and actual disasters is that almost none of the issues seem to be due to the actual steam power plant, which is ironic given that that was the major objection against building them in the first place.

[@Destroyer_V0]

At least not during the may island battle. Thgere were plenty of instances of the boilers flooding though.

[@pwagner650]

What a wonderful and informative video. Great combination of narration and pictures to bring everything to life.

[@pyroarchy]

Love the 3D models! And as always enjoyed your superb story telling! :-]

[@briannicholas2757]

Drach is the only historiographer who could narrate the Battle of May Island. His inimitable style of narration is absolutely perfect for this FUBAR incident. A thought occured to me while watching this: German radio operators picking up the radio transmissions of the the fleet, putting it on speaker for the crew, whilst giving a play by play of the chaos enveloping the British ships, with a bilingual officer translating and the cook passing out bowls of their favorite snacks and beer. With the cheeky radio operator sending out a message in English, thanking the British for providing such a comedic show for them.

[@michimatsch5862]

Down the rabbit hole the battle of may island is also very good.

[@Nightmare_52]

oh god yes ive been waiting for these ever since down the rabbit hole did a video about the battle of may island

[@yumazster]

I did not know the story of K13. Great, tense narration Drach!

[@wbwarren57]

Thank you so much for the detailed description of what history will undoubtedly record as the very best of British Navy seamanship!

[@dickhornmedicineman2766]

The amount of knowledge Drach has, the amount of research required, continues to amaze me.

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

Not only knowledge, but also experience, dedication, and obsession in mastering an understanding. Was Drach an engineer or sailor in the British Navy?

[@myparceltape1169]

​@@michaelwaldmeier1601His degree is in engineering but warships are one of his hobbies.

[@adventuresinmodelrailroading]

Would love to hear about any investigations and fallout from the Battle of May Island.

[@jlvfr]

So, this guy that calculated "15 hours of oxygen at rest"... what exactly were his qualifications?!

[@michaelwaldmeier1601]

He was being conservative.

[@jlvfr]

@@michaelwaldmeier1601 that was a heck of a margin...

[@jaytalesky2534]

Extremely interesting episode. I remember having read about the K-Class while in High School. I remember the submerged rescue, but not the Battle of May Island. Thank you very much.

[@SeraphoftheRoundTable]

Interestingly enough, the Germans were also interested in steam-powered submarines. H I Sutton has a video on it. Luckily for them, they can be thankful they did not build it.